Courtenay residents look to voice concerns about the 6th Street Bridge project through a rally tonight.
The aim of the rally is to promote a petition asking for mayor and council to reconsider the project, which has seen its cost go up from $6.9 million to $11.2 million this year.
Retired electrician and union representative Erik Eriksson says there’s a lot of people who are concerned over this initiative.
“I don’t think it’s very popular at all, and how are we going to get council to change its mind about it? We gather people together,” said Eriksson.
“It doesn’t make much sense to a lot of people as it’s a bridge to nowhere. But now that it’s going to cost over $11 million, the concern has been exasperated.”
Eriksson says originally there was an idea to put in dedicated bicycle lanes on 5th Street Bridge for $2 million, but council voted against it to look at the 6th Street Bridge project.
The project’s goal is to give cyclists and pedestrians more people-powered transportation connections from the bottom of 6th Street to Simms Millenium Park. The hope is the bridge would give users more confidence and safety, while encouraging other forms of transportation and lower greenhouse gas emissions.
He says for the city to cover the increased cost, they plan on borrowing $4.3 million from reserves, with $3.5 million in grant funding expected.
He hopes with this rally, a lot of people will sign the petition.
“If it becomes clear to council how unpopular this bridge is, they may reconsider it,” said Eriksson.
For alternatives to the bridge project, Eriksson says returning to the bike lanes on 5th Street Bridge might be worth looking into.
The petition goes live today, with the rally set for the Central Builders Parking Lot at the bottom of 6th Street, starting at 7:00 p.m.
